


Separation Initiated

by TaurusDragon



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Final Fantasy VII Remake Spoilers, Implied Relationships, Sector 7 Plate Drop (Compilation of FFVII)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25052494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaurusDragon/pseuds/TaurusDragon
Summary: He dreaded the thought of having to choose between her life and his job, it wasn’t one he could freely make.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Rude
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Separation Initiated

**Author's Note:**

> I was rewatching clips from Remake for the millionth time when I realized we don't really know what went down between Rude and Tifa on the pillar. You can't convince me that he knocked her out, so I came up with this angsty explanation.

The mission to drop the Sector 7 plate was never going to be easy, even if there hadn’t been interference. Rude’s conscience gnawed at him as he and Reno approached the pillar. Wiping out an entire sector just to get at a band of ragtag vigilantes was too much, though he would never admit it outloud. 

Reno was more brazen in voicing his opinion about their mission, calling it bullshit, a sentiment that Rude didn’t necessarily disagree with, but had to quell with a reminder that it was their duty to put down threats to public order.

Put down, as if the inhabitants of Sector 7 were nothing more than rabid animals.

He hated how callous it sounded, but it was pointless to dwell on. He boxed up his apprehension and buried it in the back of his mind with all the other sins he committed in the name of Shinra. He and the other Turks had been spared from execution once before in exchange for unquestioned loyalty, there was no choice but to do as they were ordered, regardless of the cost.

And then she showed up.

It was as if the weight of the pillar had collapsed on his chest when he saw Tifa Lockhart dashing up the stairs to join the effort to defend it. He dreaded the thought of having to choose between her life and his job, it wasn’t one he could freely make. His feigned slip of hand as Reno opened fire on her and Cloud Strife only delayed the inevitable. 

***

Now he was down on a knee staring at the barrel of Barret Wallace’s gun arm, his mouth filled with the metallic tang of blood from Tifa’s kick to his head that briefly knocked him out. He avoided striking her as much as possible during their battle, putting his focus on her AVALANCHE comrades. She seemed to have made a point to target him, he wasn’t sure why he expected anything different. 

Tifa was over by the pillar’s control terminal, no doubt trying to figure out how to cancel the plate separation authorization. A hopeless endeavor even if he and Reno were killed here. Someone else would step in and finish the job and wouldn’t give a second thought to killing her first.

From the corner of his eye he saw Reno--bloody and beaten, his suit tattered and scorched-- attempting to drag himself to his feet, but Strife brought his massive sword to Reno’s head and demanded him to stop the impending destruction. Reno’s response was too muffled for Rude to hear and rage flared through him as he watched his partner fall over, not knowing if he had passed out or if he was dead. Rude wished he would have been able to bash Strife’s head into a pulp when he had the chance. 

Wallace gave Rude a rough shove with his gun arm, staring down at him menacingly as he growled, “Looks like it’s up to you now. Tell us how we stop it, unless you want your brains splattered all over the pillar.”

Rude ignored the threat and the searing pain of his injuries and made a run for the control terminal. The prior fight with AVALANCHE and the helicopter crash he was fortunate to survive when Wallace shot him down left him suffering with a concussion and a few cracked ribs among other cuts and bruises. How he was even able to get to his feet without falling over was beyond his understanding.

“Oh no you don’t!” Wallace screamed from behind him, followed by a rapidfire of bullets, a few of them grazing Rude’s suit jacket. He expected to feel them pierce his skin any second, but instead the gunfire abruptly stopped. 

Rude glanced behind him to see dark hooded ghost-like beings swirling rapidly like a tornado, providing a barrier between him and the gunman. He stopped running and stared at them for a second. Reno told him earlier about how these things prevented Strife from beheading him in the Sector 5 church. Was something looking out for them? 

He didn’t have time to think about that now. 

He approached the control terminal, trying to steady his heavy breathing so he could better mask the pain of his cracked ribs. He stopped a few steps behind where Tifa was standing. Of all the ways he imagined their reunion this wasn’t one of them and he would forever wish it had been under different circumstances. He wouldn’t harm her though. The objective was to drop the plate, to send a message that resistance against Shinra would not be tolerated. Whoever managed to escape the sector wasn’t his responsibility . 

“Get out of here while you still can.” He could buy her and, reluctantly, her companions a bit of time to get away. No one would have to know. She stiffened at the sound of his voice, but didn’t turn to look at him.

“You have to stop this, please,” she said, her voice cracked from sobbing and her body shook slightly. He took a few steps closer so they were now side by side. She still wouldn’t look at him.

“You know I can’t do that,” he told her, his tone was more soft and weary than he had intended and at that she finally turned to face him. 

“Rude, please. This isn’t you,” she pleaded, looking at him with her red wine eyes brimming with tears. It took every ounce of restraint he had to not brush them away and embrace her. Part of him wished she would have been furious at the sight of him, like she was in battle, and punched him in the face instead. Seeing her looking so heartbroken made his throat tight and he was grateful his sunglasses were masking his eyes. 

Tifa seemed to sense his conflict and reached for his hand, he registered the faint squeeze just as her eyes widened in shock and she was flung to the ground several feet away by a swarm of hooded ghosts. 

“Tifa…” He made a move to check on her, but was immediately halted by more of the phantoms. 

What was with these things?

They swirled throughout the pillar before suddenly dissipating. Heavy footsteps came from behind Rude, he turned to see Strife charging towards him with his sword in hand. Time was up. He keyed the confirmation code to drop the plate, triggering the sirens instantly.

_Plate separation initiated. Evacuate immediately._

He ran past Strife, sliding low to avoid the swing of his sword, and made his way to where Reno was lying. AVALANCHE opted not to pursue. A sigh of relief escaped him when he found his partner still alive, just unconscious. He scooped him up into a fireman’s carry and walked towards the medical helicopter that was waiting for them.

He glanced back at Tifa--now sitting up in Strife’s arms--for the last time. In five minutes it would be over for Sector 7, for her, and it was all his fault.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry a happy ending doesn't work here, but maybe I'll do a sequel to make myself feel better lol
> 
> Comments and/or critique is always appreciated, or feel free to just say hello :)


End file.
